A place to (re)fresh, (re)purpose and find some (re)tail

Tag Archives: creativity

After living in South Africa for 9 years (where there are two seasons: HOT and Brrrr) I have a new found appreciation for all four seasons. And here in the Pacific Northwest we get a good taste of all of them.

But when autumn hits, there is something inside me that fires up. Maybe it’s the sensory stimulation I get. Who can’t love the brilliant colors, the crunch-crunch of leaves and that wonderful fresh fall air?

My creative juices get flowing.
And it doesn’t take much to add a little bit of seasonal flair to a space.

This year I have paired a hand painted sign I made last year with an antique water pump and crate on my front porch.

A couple rustic wreaths….

(Isn’t this one amazing? A sweet friend makes these for sale! If you are interested in buying one, leave a comment and I will contact you)

I grew up listening to my grandmother recount all kinds of facts about her extended family – Great Aunt So and So who loved fine china and Great Uncle So and So who grew hops out in the country. It was a blur of names combined with interesting stories of days gone by. These days, it is my mom who is busy researching her family tree – and she has been pretty successful. It certainly will make passing family history down a lot easier for me (Thanks Mom!)

This year, as a little token, I decided to make Mom a little family tree for her wall. Not generations and generations, but just her offspring – because one day we will be not just a little sapling, but a grand old oak.

I dug into my stash of salvaged cabinet doors.

I loved that they easily convert to a “preframed” surface just waiting for something fun.

After a quick primer coat of paint on the front and back, it was a pretty simple process. (You can totally do this!)

Here are the items that are needed to complete this project:

1 salvaged cabinet door (mine was approximately 12″ x 24″)

Paint brush for base coat (1 1/2″ works well)

White primer spray paint

Painters tape

Black chalkboard paint (or black paint with a flat finish)

Acrylic paint in your favorite color (for the “frame”)

White acrylic paint pen

Clear Matte finish coat

Step One: Prepare surface by applying a thin coat of white primer spray paint to the front and back. This makes any type of cabinet surface paint-able. Nothing is more disappointing that putting time into something to have it bubble up or slide off!)

Step Two: Paint the frame and back. It doesn’t take much paint, so a small bottle of your favorite color purchased from a local craft supply store will give you more than enough to put down two good coats. (hint: prevent “oopsies” by taping off the “chalkboard area” with painters tape)

Step Three: Base coat the “chalkboard”. Two coats will give you a good surface, but if you have a quality paint, one coat may just be all you need! Again, it helps to tape off the portion of the surface that you don’t want to paint – in this case, the freshly painted frame. Make sure the paint on the frame is completely dry before you tape, or the tape may lift off the paint.

Step Four: Free hand draw, or transfer an outline of a tree. There are many images online that work well – and you can follow a simple method such as the one used here- to transfer it onto your surface. While you are at it, you can also free hand or transfer printed text – perhaps your family name, or “Family Tree” – or your favorite quote. (search “curly tree” for inspiration)

Step Five: Outline the transferred image with a medium tipped paint pen. These pens work great if you are patient. Shaking them, then pressing the tip onto a piece of scrap paper brings the paint to the tip. Once wet, it flows pretty smoothly, giving a nice steady line. Add the names of each of the people that branch off the family “trunk” – children on the main branches, and grandchildren on the smaller branches. Add a sweet pink heart to the trunk of the tree using either a small amount of acrylic paint, or a pink paint pen

Step Six: Top coat to protect the painted surface. Make sure that your work is completely dry before application. One or two coats of a matte finish varnish or acrylic top coat provides scratch protection as well as some moisture resistance.

Final Step: Attach hangers – such as the ones shown below – to the back of the plaque.

Display your Family Tree with pride, because one day, your great-great grandchildren will thank you!

My grandson’s favorite book is Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney. I think it is the illustrations that has captured his imagination, as well as the squeezes I give him as we read it. Capturing imagination is what it is all about!

When I found a very tired, old cradle at a local thrift store, I couldn’t pass it up. It brought back memories of me lovingly rocking my favorite doll and doing all the things loving mommies do.

It wasn’t hard to decide what to do with this poor scratched doll cradle.

Can’t you just imagine some sweet child leaning over this cradle, rocking the object of their adoration?

This item is currently available for sale! One of a kind and hand painted! $40.00 without mattress and pillow

I have often been told I am a creative person. Creative? Hmmm… I am afraid I don’t agree. I side with King Solomon who said “there is nothing new under the sun”. Is there really anything truly original anymore? Isn’t most everything a spin off of something else?

So I embrace what I am – I am great at recreation! Not the “leisure and recreation” type of recreation (although laying in a hammock on a sunny day does sound enticing!) – more the making something new out of something old. Taking something tattered, rejected and out of date – and making it purposeful, beautiful and worthwhile.

In light of this, I welcome you to my blog – and to my projects. I plan to share techniques, step by step instruction and finished projects – some of which will be available for sale. Use them, copy them, re-create them! Be inspired, be encouraged and be adventurous!

recreation (n.) late 14c., noun of action from past participle stem of recreare “to refresh, restore, make anew, revive, invigorate,” from re- “again” + creare meaning “refresh oneself by some amusement” is first recorded c.1400.